After being knocked out of the Coppa Italia quarter-finals by Fiorentina in midweek, Torino were looking to put their cup disappointment behind them and they started in a calm and composed manner, dominating possession in the early stages. Mërgim Vojvoda, who is yet to score in a Torino shirt, tried his luck from long-range in the 10th minute, but Marco Silvestri smartly saved his powerful strike. As the first period drifted towards its conclusion, Silvestri was again required to thwart Yann Karamoh, who produced an audacious acrobatic effort. With two points separating the sides ahead of kick-off, there was a sense of inevitability about the score remaining level at HT, but Udinese boss Andrea Sottil would have been keen to see an improvement from his side following a lacklustre first-half display.
However, Sottil’s wish was not granted, as Torino took the lead within just four minutes of the restart. Ola Aina’s inviting cross found the purposeful run of Karamoh, who guided the ball home from close-range. Although the strike was initially ruled out for offside, VAR overturned the decision, ensuring the striker could celebrate his first league goal of the season - and potentially the match winner. After offering very little before the hour mark, Udinese finally began to threaten the Torino goal, with most notably, Walace’s fizzing shot from distance stinging the gloves of Vanja Milinković-Savić. With the hosts holding firm, Sottil attempted to assist his side by introducing players from the bench, including Florian Thauvin, who was making his debut following his arrival on transfer deadline day.
As it proved, despite the five minutes of added-time Udinese created very little in the final stages, with the defeat leaving them with just one win from their last 13 league games. Meanwhile, Torino can celebrate their first home victory in 2023 and move up to seventh.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yann Karamoh (Torino)
